2020 - 'Sixteenth'

2019 was a funny year, although I as write this I am not laughing. Not so much fishing; the broken back bowed me almost to the ground, but I can take a hint and have since lost 18lb with another 50lb (22.7kg) to go (yes '50'). I am getting used to my new lifestyle, although this is necessity, not good intention; the damage done to my spine some 30 years hence cannot be fixed, but I can reduce the load on it.

A few wise words to ponder; firstly, for the 'woke':

"I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." ~~ Stephen Jay Gould, The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History ~~

Secondly, for those who think everything is 'just an opinion':

"You don't need people's opinion on a fact. You might as well have a poll asking: Which number is bigger, 15 or 5? Do owls exist? Are there hats?" ~~ Steve Mnuchin ~~

Thirdly, for the magical thinkers:

"...that which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence." ~~ Christopher Hitchens ~~

I can not add, meaningfully, to those. The previous years of the 'Diary', such as it might be termed, can be reached via the below links.

This is the 2020 diary page, which displays in descending date order, i.e. with the earliest entry at the top.

1st January 2020. Dorset Stillwater. The road across the ridge was so foggy I was obliged to drop my speed to half the limit and it was certainly colder here than chez JAA. Kingfisher Lake was becalmed, but I persisted, walking a worm about with the LBRLight Blue rod, aka the Other Mk.III and float-fishing lobs alternated with pinches on bread on the LHSRELight Hexagraph Salmon Rod Experiment. A kingfisher was catching, but the worm-on-the-float only twitched a few times, once even moving down an inch, but that was that. After two hours, it felt like I had given it a proper go, so for this and other reasons, re-pitched on 'Blue Lake'. I need the walk to warm up; the mist, slight breeze and 4°C had sucked the life out of my hands.

Flat flat flat...

...flat flat...did I mention how flat calm it was?

Unmoved, despite all exhortations.

There were many rudd. Many many rudd. Using the LBRLight BLue rod, aka the Other Mk.III, I extracted a few, then experimented with dropping a pinch of bread four feet straight down, using 3BB under a long quill; Blue Lake is deep, four or five feet off the bank and then rapidly falls away to over 10 feet or more in places, generating its titular colour. This method resulted in quite a few larger rudd, 6-8oz, and what appeared to be a 'choach'. Further experimentation with the LHSRELight Hexagraph Salmon Rod Experiment showed that a bait fished deeper than 6ft wasn't touched and both lobs and bread fished anywhere else were quickly found and annihilated. Hm. I pottered about a bit to warm up - I had a tin of meat in the car and 1" cubes might be the way to try for one for the chub or 'anything but another rudd'. I CBHCan't Be Hedgehogged, but then recalled I'd had this problem before and dealt with it by rolling hard pills of bread around ½" in diameter and side hooking them.

The 'choach'

The Blue Lake, one end of it anyway

One of very very many rudd

I added a ¼" to this size, put 3×BB 2" from the hook, then fished under a long quill at about a fathom deep. This generated a considerable amount of spurious float movement, but no false bites, then after one new bait, the float rose up in the water and lay flat. The mystery ran about hard and dove deep and it was five minutes before I saw it, a fine common in the 10lb range. I awarded myself a cup of 'reinforced' BEGCBlack Earl Grey and Cylon tea. Heh. I re-baited, thrice and then as the light evanesced, the whole tip shot under and this mystery was not as heavy, so I backed off the clutch a little and let it run, which it did twice and it materialised into a fine chub on a cold damp day. The silver-and-red dressing around the chub is simply the rudd that were under the net when I lifted it...

The thoroughly welcome carp

The surprisingly large chub

I fished on, packed the LBRLight BLue rod, aka the Other Mk.III away, then all other non-essentials, then ran through two more cups of the RBEGCReinforced Black Earl Grey and Cylon tea and hung on for a last fish, but nothing came.

1st January 2020. Twenty Twenty. "Hindsight Year". There is an odd pleasure to be taken from adapting a piece of electronics in order that it will allow the detection of a signal of 0.1 µV. To put that in context; if you stand an AA battery on one end and let its height (5cm) represents its voltage, (1.5 V), then 0.1 µV would have a height of 3.3 nM (or: 0.0000000033 m). This, in context, is about the width of 16 silicon atoms. If you think a size 22 hook is tiny, the width of the wire is about 5,000,000 atoms wide...mind bogglingly tiny is 0.1 µV.

As we're 'doing technical', here is a relevant quote:

"Successful engineering is all about understanding how things break or fail." ~~ Henry Petroski ~~

In order to rub along with the majority of the human race, it will on occasion be necessary to nod and apparently agree with a large variety of belief systems, almost all of which have no basis in truth.

"Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. ...the grave will supply plenty of time for silence." ~~ Christopher Hitchens, Letters to a Young Contrarian ~~

Do meaningful things, try not to believe any idiocy and have a Happy New Year.

6th January 2020. Pheasant Plucker. A nice pair of late season birds arrived today, more fat than I've seen on one for a while. They will make a fine game curry.

9th January 2020. The Small Technology.

It occurred the other day, as I extracted the sat-nav off the Bugangler, then hung a new 'Silva' compass on my fishing bag, that the 'handy', the Small Technology, the mobile phone that is, has made a raft of things obsolete and is bearing down on others...most smart phones replace:

For the vintage angler (I cut my technological teeth programming a 'Commodore Pet'), these things represent an extraordinary change in the world, not that I have any objection and I am as enmeshed as most people. But still...

The vigilant may care to note I still keep the Silva compass in my bag, along with an overly manly 'tactical' torch that can variously be used to (a) illuminate a float tip for 25 hours, or (b) to burn out the retinas of any sentient creature within 30 feet for a mere three hours or so.

13th January 2020. The Lane.

For divers reasons I haven't walked up to the Barn for some time, a twelve-month probably. It still has its poignant bygone red-brick and the Winterborne is running full and clear.

A lost farm-stead

The Winterborne

The Winterborne

a very subtil fish...(and back to the top of the page)

Watch for magpies on your path. Throw salt over your left shoulder. Walk around ladders.

if you will Fish for a Carp, you must put on a very large measure of patience

I am content to wait. I am well used to it.

if you will Fish for a Carp, you must put on a very large measure of patience

I am content to wait. I am well used to it.

I am content to wait. I am well used to it.

a very subtil fish

Watch for magpies on your path. Throw salt over your left shoulder. Walk around ladders.

if you will Fish for a Carp, you must put on a very large measure of patience

1st February 2020. Darts. So: I found, when the Dabblers were setting fish refuges into the Lower Saxon Pond, the tip of a plastic float. So? It was about 6mm across and moulded into a cross-section of a 'cross' (sorry). This of course gives it high visibility and low resistance, which might be useful for sensitive bites. The piece of plastic was pocketed, but more pertinently, the idea took root.

I once made some very poor 'dart-flight' floats, something I didn't care to re-visit. Then, in part because the Bugangler (21¾) is learning to make violins, I discovered that good quality 'razor saws' can be had for under a tenner. The one shown is 0.35mm across the teeth, 0.25mm across the blade and, crucially, cuts on the draw stroke. Aha. I cut slots in the blunt end of four porcupine quills, long and deep enough so that a pair of plastic dart flights in an offensive pink colour left a few mm of protruding quill quarter-sections at the said blunt end. Hm. I didn't want the whole dart-flight. The idea wasn't to make a float that could be seen at 100 yards, but rather an easy sighter, with no attendant additional buoyancy or, worse, with the CoG
CoGCentre of Gravity
elevated towards the tip.

The 'Razor' Saw, plus a spare blade.

Mrs AA appeared and with that special sarcasm that comes as a free gift with every 25¼ years of marriage, asked if I was making darts. I put flights into the four quills, then threw them at the kitchen cork-board (the pointy ends are really very sharp). It turned out I have made some darts. I briefly considered penning a traditional angling murder-mystery that centred on a 'built-cane crossbow and porcupine-quill quarrel' incident.
MM"Are you quite mad Sergeant? A true Traditionalist would never use plastic flights..."

Carefully, using a pair of braid scissors found some years ago, I cut one vane to a shallow curve. I folded it onto the next vane and cut around it. Repeated this twice and 'ta-daa', they all matched. So...I trimmed two pink sets, one orange and one translucent orange. I pared off the porcy-swarf, cleaned each slot with a piece of P150 sandpaper, coloured the cut quarters black with permanent pen, cyanoacrylate'd the flights in, then carefully ensured each 'quarter' was glued to its niche in the flights, then glued and compressed the protruding ends, using a few turns of thread.

I could have painted the 'quarters' but they'd probably not have kept their paint on, but I varnished over them and made sure the joints were sealed. A black stripe in the middle of the flights works well and a small colour band under the flights finishes the job. I expect the flights' colours to fade, but it'll be interesting to see how they fare on the water. It occurs to me, assuming they fish well at all, that iridescent dart flights in red or perhaps green will do very well for picking up torchlight or, for the latter, moon-light. Which is an idea.

They do look like darts though. At least they'll cast well.

Orange

The floats - my camera is near the end of its natural life and its focussing is increasingly a bit 'off'

Pink

I suspect that the 'flights' will end up being trimmed, so that the float has a 'sighter' only at the top half of the tip, something about 'half a set of dart-flights' size.

2nd February 2020. Palindrome Date Day.

5th February 2020. I Have Been a Bad Boy. Very bad. I took a perfectly good rod, no, more than that, a really good rod and cut it up to make a 'light tip' section for my Harrison's Four-Piece Avon. Yep. I really like the Four-Piece but its 1lb 10oz t/c is on the stout side for some fishing. So, for some time I have hankered after a really good quality 'light tip' section, ideally lowering the overall t/c down to about 1lb.

A previous attempt with an old incomplete multi-purpose avon rod (a pawn shop find), one of they with a dolly section and various other bits and bobs, wasn't a success. This was because the raw material's tip was thin-walled compared with the Four-Piece, so the transition from the tip to the third section was a bit abrupt. OK for 4oz roach; not so OK for 'surprise' 8lb carp.

The bad thing I did doesn't have this problem, in fact it seemed perfect. I planned to add a reinforcing whipping to the light tip's 'counter' area, with no-name uncoated green spectra braid and then coat it with a two-part epoxy that can be thinned with a little isopropyl alcohol, to the consistency of water. The notional plan was to whip onto a tacky coat of resin, mix a second batch, thin it, let it soak into the braid and leave it to go off. However 'comma' the internet says that this may weaken the resin a bit. Heat can also reduce the resin's viscosity (temporarily), but the surface its applied to would also need warming. Hm. I pondered and reached for the heat-gun. This, I reasoned, can be set to 65°C and if I used it to warm the resin...

...and then common sense kicked in. I had already carefully removed (¼" at a time) the lower portion of the 'light tip' section and of course it is far easier to make a reinforcing sleeve out of a piece of the off-cut. This cut-off also has the great advantage of having the same taper. I compared the length of the reinforced section on the Harrison's tip, 3", then carefully removed the same length of varnish from the 'light tip'. While it took some time to carefully cut such a sleeve, ¼" at a time until it was exactly right for the job - a loose 'working fit' as there needed to be space for epoxy - it was easy to fit and glue into place...

Some practical points concerning this process:

Cut carbon-fibre outdoors, do not breathe the dust and keep the dust off your hands.

I cut the blank down using a knife-edged jeweller's file. Not a hack-saw, it does far too much damage. I cut a groove in a piece of 1"× 1" timber as a former and then laid the blank in the groove. Using the flat end of the wooden former to align the file, I turned the blank, in place, until the cut-line was right around the blank. This ensured a flat square cut. I then rotated the blank and held the file in place until it was cut through. Don't use too much pressure here or the blank will delaminate a little.

The resulting sleeve was left a smidge overlong at the counter end and glued into place that way. I then gently rubbed back the 'overhang' with very fine emery wrapped around a lolly stick, until it was flush with the original section's end. As before, I did this outside and used a little water to keep the dust down. I used a piece of cork to bung up the counter end of the 'light tip' before gluing, as set epoxy in the hole is rather a nuisance to remove. I wrapped the other end of the sleeve in cling-film to stop any run off, then stood the whole thing on one end until it had set.

The sleeved 'new' tip alongside the old 'light tip'

'The Tool'

The sleeved 'new' tip alongside the old 'light tip', I wondering if the sleeve isn't somewhat over engineered...

The new section was a near perfect fit on the spiot of the Harrison's third section, but needed some work as it was would not seat fully 'home' and it had the slightest of 'knocks'. Secure in the knowledge that there is plenty of carbon in the new counter, I made a tool to bore it to fit. I rifled the stock-tube and dug out a length of carbon that had the same taper as the spigot. A micrometer is a very useful thing...the plan was to make a tool that extended only as far as the spigot would, but only ground the bottom two-thirds of the counter. This was because there was a gap visible between the spigot and the counter when they were mated.

The idea was to cut the tube so that the narrow end was a little less (think some tenths of a mm) than the desired fit (5.25mm) so that when a 5mm strip of 240 grit wet-and-dry was glued around this piece of tube, it would bore out to the desired 5.25mm at a 58mm depth into the counter. I marked the 58mm mark on the tool with a pen. Cyanoacrylate was used to coat the back of the wet'n'dry, it was bound it with string and left it in the 'contemporary orangerie' to set...

This worked perfectly, although it took three sets of grinding and very thorough 'de-dusting' operations, to get to a perfect fit. I removed the dust using strips of wet cleaning cloth.

I then needed to redistribute some rod rings - the original Harrison's tip's last two rings were tiny size 6's. Quite why I thought that was a good idea...so I removed them for re-deployment on the 'light tip', then whipped on two size 8 replacements. The new 'light tip' will not have to manage more than 6lb line and mostly will be dealing with 3-4lb, so the size 6's will be fine on this. Naturally, the 'light tip' is some 6" longer than the original Harrison's tip (there is no free lunch), so it requires one more ring. The bottom ring on the 'light tip' was spaced exactly as on the original tip. I then used 'excel' to work out spacing for the remaining four, which left the ring-spacing a little wider than it was on the original source rod. This was on purpose, as it will soften the action a little, which will not hurt. The extra length will be useful in any event.

Top to bottom; the old 'light tip', the new 'light tip', the original tip.

Top to bottom; the old 'light tip', the new 'light tip', the original tip.

Top to bottom; the old 'light tip', the new 'light tip', the original tip.

Top to bottom; the old 'light tip', the new 'light tip', the original tip.

Top to bottom; the old 'light tip', the new 'light tip', the original tip.

A long shot to show the different lengths of the three tip-sections.

Gremlins of orderliness...hopefully, when tested, the new section will fish OK...it waggles/flexes perfectly well, the rod's curve looks smooth.

I apologise for the rubbish pictures, my camera is struggling to maintain its focus and I cannot be mithered to sort out a diffuse light source. I will now move smoothly onto making a 'dolly section' to facilitate the use of the top two sections with the handle, to do service as a brook rod...probably. So, my Four-Piece Avon now is a 'Six Piece', with three tips, about ¾lb t/c, a smidgen over 1lb and 1lb 10oz. Useful.

All the rod needs now is a tip-section to make the rod up to a 2lb curve or a smidge more, then I'll have four rods in one short bag. I may have to explore fly rod blanks for that...something like the top section of a nine foot #10. I shall also have to get a T-shirt made with "Born to Fettle" on it. Or "Born to Fiddle". Pick one.

One thing clearly worse than short-haul flights is a short-haul flight in two legs. I have a mental image of such journeys, something akin to a deep-dive into a tunnel, an artefact of the shape of the plane and the topology of a road journey, in conjunction with the fugue state of travelling ennui. One sinks, the passing world blurs into passing artificial lights. Like a tunnel, there are niches and in these pools of shadow lurk the small demons of boredom, cramped legs, dehydration poor food and too much coffee.

Decanted in Manchester airport; a new experience for me (the place, not the decanting). Not at its best with holiday flight delays leaving the place full of short tempers and bad fashion. Only a little late landing, but the connecting flight has pushed out an hour. I took on some Earl Grey and a lemon tart then, under the guise of looking out the window at the planes, I watched the in-reflection semi-chaos. A man on my right drives his spouse off by mocking her smart-phone use. Then he reads his paper, aggressively, as if daring it to have printed anything he didn't agree with, but leaning in close if the pictures involved a swimsuit. I finished my tea, then biffed off to a quiet corner to continue reading the excellent and empirical notes on fishing by the redoubtable Captain L. A. Parker.

Very bumpy touch-down at the other end, FurryBootsToon, not 'top-ten most harrowing', but still. Half-a-mile on shanks' p. to the JAFHJust another Feckin' Hotel, blown breathless by the winds of the airport approach, ten minutes too late to use the bar. Ah well.

JAFH sunset

...took on some Earl Grey and a lemon tart...

JAFH sunrise

20th February 2020. The Hexagraph Avon, one more time. This is leaning in the corner, while I consider some greenish composite cork rings, an 18mm reel seat and possibly some new rings...

I'm looking at the long shank of corks rubbed down to 16mm o/d and wondering if the whole handle really needs replacing. That's a large job and I pondered overlaying the corks with plain purple shrink-tube. Then I recalled the Sam's first rule (from that extraordinary film 'Ronin'); "If there is any doubt, then there is no doubt". Well perhaps not purple then.

...coffin...(and back to the top of the page)

...barrel...

...coffin...

...barrel...

...coffin...

...barrel...

2nd March 2020. This Fishing by Captain L. A. Parker.

This fine little book, printed in 1948, when chaps wore jackets and properly baggy trousers, even when fishing, has a great deal relevant to even the modern angler. A skilful angler, clearly, the author was also inventive and a great recorder of the kind of data that hardly anyone takes these days and in many waters today does not matter very much. In particular, the author notes that (winter) river water temperatures are critical and one will almost never catch at water temperatures of 40°F (4.4°C) or less but at water temperatures of 41-42°F (5-5.6°C) there are fish to be had. At 44-45°F (6.7-7.2°C) you may score very well, although the fish still have to be located.

This is but one example of his careful approach: others include the important of plumbing carefully and extensively, methods of shotting while avoiding damage to gut hook-links, something worth consideration even with nylon lines, ground-bait and its deployment and many other useful pieces of advice. All of these are distilled from experience, observation and experiment. Even his notes and methods for carp fishing are prescient. I was very taken with his method of long trotting dry-flies and there is much else in this little book to agree with, along with many more useful observations. A great deal could be learnt by careful study of this neat, accurate and entertaining book.

9th March 2020. Dark Estuary by 'BB'.

I was lucky enough to pick this up for a song, a first edition, complete with its dust-jacket and water-colour illustrations. This is a soulful read, BB's love of the wild places of the geese is, for this reader, stronger than the love of the geese themselves and for me, (also) a lover of winter, wild spaces and the smell of the salt-flats, it is richly evocative of place and also perhaps, of a more innocent time. It seems to me that the book is as much about men undertaking these activities without the modern malaise of second guessing what is 'right or 'correct', as it is about wild-fowling.

It is interesting to note that BB himself felt strongly about only shooting the edible and eating one's bag. He had no time for slaughter for only the sake of the act. There are echoes of the privileged upbringing of the author and his fellows, but if one is determined to be offended, something can always be found to rail against.

The (water) colour plates are appropriately 'landscape' and display the wide skies and horizons that are soulfully evoked by the text.

There is too much easily recalled to note it all; evenings thawing by the fire are as well drawn as the stumbling pains of rising before dawn in glacial conditions and then going outside; the perfectly described creeping panic that one sometime grips one's senses in wild lonely places, a distant echo of long evolved survival instincts; an interesting passing note on the sudden booms that are heard on the coast, described by the shore's inhabitants as "the sea calling the wind".

This is a fine evocative read and ought to appeal to anyone who loves the outdoors and especially the outdoors next the sea.

10th March 2020. Barbaric. I just read this, utterly deplorable, Dorset caravan park owner jailed for shooting otterWords fail me. I would normally never fish there again and urge others to follow suit, but I gather the place has been under new ownership since late 2019. Nevertheless its name has been removed from this site.

22nd March 2020. Coronavirus. Isolate, take this seriously, slow this thing down. It will be grim, but we can take the edge off it.

27th March 2020. The Hexagraph Avon, One More Time... So, I (carefully) ripped off the old reel seat and the corks.

I opted for green composite cork-rings, in two sorts, opened them up with a cone cutter to the 'across the flats' o/d of their relative positions on the blank and then used a mandrel, made with from an old piece of cane, to cut each ring's hole hexagonal-ish, then stacked them on the blank.

I numbered the cork rings, took them off again, carefully cut four 1.5mm pieces off opposite sides of all the rings, rendering them into a rough square, then glued them (epoxy-resin) back on in the same order, so the 'corners' of adjacent pieces were 45° from each other. I compressed the corks, 'manually', then by using a large 'penny washer' placed over the blank and against the last cork ring, then winding a thick solid cord, around the blank until it reached the washer and compressed the corks, then tied off until the glue had set. There is very little 'give' in these composite rings.

When the glue was off, using a very sharp wet knife, I cut the opposing corners off, leaving a rough round section then set to it with a piece of half-drainpipeIt is surpisingly how good this method is. and some P60 for the bulk of the sanding, moving to P100, then P120. I strapped the nozzle of the 'Henry' to the work-bench so that the resulting dust went striaght into the vacuum-cleaner as I worked.

When I was only a fraction off the required o/d (the same as the reel-seat, some 25.5mm ), I bored a champagne cork through the middle with a pillar drill, 3mm-6mm-8mm in that order, opened out the end with the cone-cutter, then bored it out with the mandrel as before. This was expoxy'd into place and compressed on using cord-and-washer as before. Then it was cut down to the same o/d as the existing corks, still a smidge proud of the reel seat o/d. I stuck four P60 grit patches on the end of the reel seat and rotated the seat, sanding the end of the champagne cork flush.

I nicked of the sandpaper bits (VSSKVery Small Sharp Knife (Opinel No.7)) and fitted the reel seat using cork tape to make up four arbours and a copious supply of epoxy. The seat was a working fit on the arbours and I coated those with epoxy, gave them 15 minutes for it to soak in a bit and then filled each gap in turn with epoxy as I pushed the seat home. I aligned it using the screw-lock locating groove on the top, which needed to be central to the flat opposite to the flat the rings are mounted on. Simples, one advantage of hexagonal sections.

I made a fore-grip with 2½ corks of the same sort (lest anyone think I quaff ruinous quantities of the fizzy stuff, these are mostly Prosecco corks, and my stock is the result of many years of quietly trousering 'cast off' corks of this type).

The fore-grip was swiftly cut to diameter, P60, P100, P120...

Couple of finishing touches: I polished all the corks, especially the last corks behind the reel-seat, with some P180 grit,. A wrap of cling-film and masking tape was used to protect the reel seat. I also had to gently remove the marks on the butt-end made during the handle shaping. I had planned to remove it and fit a new one, but it was barely marked, so I polished it with P180 and left in situ. There is a slight asymmetry to the foregrip, the result of some variation in the corks' densities, but it looks very fine otherwise.

I wiped the whole thing down with a damp cloth to remove dust and let it dry off in the lean-to (when we moved into our house there was a cheap greenhouse 'lean-to' at the back, which the surveyor described as 'a strictly temporary structure'. We immediately dubbed this 'the solarium'. When we installed a rather less temporary conservatory, it was immediately dubbed 'the lean-to'). The handle looks like this:

Green composite cork rings, two sorts, plus one champagne cork. Plus the toe end of a 'shark' sockie.

The fore-grip. Two-and-one-half champagne corks

I had planned some kind of tricky whipping scheme, but discovering Pac-Bay now have a full range of NCP theads, I have bought some nice colours. To be continued...

31st March 2020. The Situation. Keeping busy.

I am fortunate, in that we live in the sticks and my employer has formally furloughed me, so we are well placed to keep away from everyone and shop once a week, tramping around the expanse of the north down in the early morning for our daily dozen. We see more deer than people, even at the moment. To retain our sanity, we have resolved to do something constructive every day, as far as it is possible. As of today ('day four') so far:

Cleaned and wire brushed everything in the metal toolbox that got dripped on during the winter...condensation running down the inside of the roof was the source of the water. Fortunately I bought a cheap drill pillar thingy a few weeks back, so with this bolted to the bench, I wired-brushed all the useful tools back to shiny, including a collection of drill bits and screwdriver bits, all of which are now kept in a dry place...annoying.

Stripped, cleaned and mended an old vacuum cleaner and used it to clean out the garage.

Made and fitted a replacement 'leg' for the workbench as the bottom of one leg has crumbled, naturally the end with the two vices. I used a left over piece of 3×3 fencepost (I am going to make a whole new bench next year).

Fixed the last of the security brackets to the rear fence. This involved cold-reshaping a few of them (a ball-peen hammer may have been involved), to better fit the fence and panels. The idea is that the panels cannot simply be lifted to gain entry, as they are all screwed together. Like all my outside stuff, I use stainless steel posi-screws, so I can replace everything in five years with no problem.

Mended a panel on the side fence.

I fitted a security light next to the back garage door and wired it in. This was not too tricky (yes it works). When I re-wired the garage I left in a switch and junction box for the light-to-be, although the fittings for the light and the PIR have been hanging about for two years, waiting for their round tuit. I removed the old light and filled the hole.

Cleaned off two old Shire horse shoes, found field-walking (rotary wire brush on drill-stand again), drilled and countersunk mounting holes in them (hard iron, old horse-shoes), painted them green and made a house number out of them for the front wall [guess my house number for bonus points].

The last few items were greatly eased by the new electric drill/screwdriver, a Bosch PSB18 Li-2. This very useful bit of kit has drill, screwdriver and 'hammer' drill setting and on one battery charge, I drilled three holes right through the garage wall and did all the above. Extraordinary piece of kit.

Stay safe and well.

Gobio Gobio (and return to the top of the page)

Gonk

Gobby

Gonk

Gobio Gobio

Gobby

Gobio Gobio

Gudgeon

Gudgeon

Gobio Gobio

2nd April 2020. The Situation. Still Keeping busy.

If I wake early, I walk up the down, it is a very fine spot.

The view from the top.

Another view from the top.

That said:

We re-stacked the firewood into 'apple, this years' and 'the rest'. There was a fine old Bramley tree behind the garage, but much of it was dead and resolving to chop bits off, was immediately convinced it might not take my weight. Plus I am now old enough to know some things are for younger people to do. A handy tree surgeon cut it down and into pieces. This does light up the garage somewhat. We of course needed to stack the 'old wood' at the front to ensure it was used first.

Screwed the '3' to the house.

Affixed a sparrow nesting-box (made six years ago) to the garage ('O' Level carpentry at best).

Started 'Hammeriting' an old cobbler's last that was in the garage when we moved in.

Shoed speculative robin out of garage (twice).

Whipped two rod rings onto the butt-section of my Hexagraph Avon.

Tried to remember why I bought some black silicone sealant I found in the lean-to. Failed. I mean black? Must be for something specific.

Three

Stay safe and well.

4th April 2020. The Situation. Still Keeping busy.

I decided to sort out the garage door today; it was not properly fitted and needs a quarter inch off one edge...but my plane, an old 'Acorn' had also been dripped on, so the first order is a full strip, clean, sharpen and re-assembly. So back to the rotary stiff wire brush, although the blade and its support were better cleaned with a rotary linisher. I re-touched the blade on the Bugangler's whet-stone. I found some red 'Hammerite' under some spiders and used it to re-paint those bits that were painted. It took a few goes to get the frog in the right place and the adjustment knob jammed at the limits of its adjustment (which explains the pliers' marks on its rim). I screwed it onto its studding, put a turn of duct-tape around the thread, put that in the drill and re-profiled the inner edge of the brass with a flat jewellers file so it could not do that ever again.

One of the great things about Youtube is, not only can I find detailed guides on the setting up and assembly of a plane, I can find someone showing how to do it using exactly the same model I have.

Then I fixed an old round fence post (salvaged from the tree-house I made for the Littleanglers) to the flower bed sleepers (two angle-brackets, more stainless steel screws), to hand the bird feeder on. This was necessary, as the new PIR detector was tripped by the existing hanger, a hook under an extended garage roof timber. As I also had to remove an old wrought-iron bracket from the garage wall (to fit the previously mentioned light), I wire-brushed it to death, cold-forged a hook on the end, countersunk its screw holes, then gave it a coat of the green Hammerite; this was screwed to said post to use as a new hook for the feeder.

Before

After

Stay safe and well.

5th April 2020. The Situation. Still Keeping busy.

I ('finally' some might say) re-sealed the back of the kitchen sink and made copper-wire 'anti-slug' devices for the horseradish roots. While the enterprising might consider connecting those wires to the mains, I cut the bottom out of several plastic flower pots, inverted them over the spouting roots and put two loops of copper wire over the pots. This seems to discourage the little blighters, giving the leaves a chance to get above ground level. I then ('finally' some might say) re-fixed the landing curtain-rail (the plaster around the existing rawl-plugs had crumbled).

That was after a dawn walk up to the top of the hill.

Sunrise

Stay safe and well.

6th April 2020. The Situation. Still Keeping Busy.

Today, we both set on the composters at the top of the garden. There are two and they are used occasionally and the bottom two-thirds of both were solid with years-old stuff. This involved a spade, a shovel, Mrs. AA, a wheelbarrow, an old trampoline cover used as a tarpaulin and a dozen or so trips up and down the garden, where some quite good compost was piled in a heap and the tarpaulin put over the top.

An amount of rotten heartwood from the doomed apple-tree was in one of the composters and breaking it up we fished out chrysalises, larvae and one or two dazed Lesser Stag Beetles (I gather this is the normal state for them). These had burrowed into the apple tree in some numbers and the life cycle of the larval stage is so long, it suggests that the apple tree was rotting from the inside out for 3-4 years. Huh.

We potted up tomatoes, peppers and chillies in the lean-to; we had to round up three small half-bags of compost stashed with the garage spiders for this and hopefully some ordered for delivery will arrive in a week or so. Beans will be potted in a few weeks, but there is no rush, the ground is too cold for them for a month at least and potting them too soon just means hard-to-transplant straggly bean plants, which never goes well.

Crysalis

Lesser Stag Beetle

Stay safe and well.

8th April 2020. The Situation. Still Keeping Busy.

I did a little less yesterday (although I stuck to the daily dozen). One of the house martins has moved into the garage to roost, so the door-work is postponed, as it is our custom to leave the door open for them. A few more security brackets for the top fence needed re-forming, so I did that and then I added a few side struts to the garden arch, strictly to keep the Himalayan blackberry under control. It is inclined towards world domination otherwise and but for secateurs and said struts the arch would be 'a bush' by the end of the summer. Having done that I was co-opted into using my day-job skills for something voluntary, which took up the rest of the day.

Stay safe and well.

10th April 2020. The Situation. Still Keeping Busy.

I re-made the reinforcing whipping on the Hex Avon, more on that later. I dismantled the towel-rail in the downstairs loo, rubbed the wood down with some fine grade sandpaper, wire-wooled it to the death, cleaned it with white sprit and then re-varnished it. The 'rail' part, a thickish dowel, was sanded down, cleaned with white sprit and then given tow coats of beeswax polish. It will get put back on the wall in a couple of days. I glued the new struts into an old wooden float winder (more on that later) and for good luck reviewed a chapter of a book a friend is writing. I dug out the Dutch onions along one side of the veggie plot, split them up, took out most of the mint (you never get it all) then replanted this side of the allium border. Found a massive perennial fennel root, so dug a big hole in a flower bed that used to be over-shaded by the Bramley tree, and re-planted it. In the background I am tinkering with this site, removing spelling errors and fixing a few long left annoyances. But it is technically a Bank Holiday so I feel fine about doing only these few things.

Stay safe and well.

12th April 2020. The Situation. Still Keeping Busy.

Yesterday and today I have been mostly reading an improving book by David CanterJust brilliant stuff; I have come to realise I know very little., well worth one's time. The remaining edges of the veggie bed have been dug out, then replanted with the Dutch onions and a very few springs of mint. The tomatoes and chillies are thus far un-sprouted, six days gone, but 10-12 is not unusual. The sun-flowers are sprouting though, which is good news for the goldfinches who have made their annual appearance in the front garden. The Hex Avon is on its last few bits, the counter whipping, the tip ring needs replacing and I want to whip over the reel seat hood, for funsies. The towel rail is back on the wall and very smart it looks. I think it was bought it in 1994.

Stay safe and well.

14th April 2020. Keeping busy. Winder. I have had one of those wooden float winders for some time now, extracted from a boot sale using the levers of reciprocity. It has hung on a hook above my desk, for no other reason than 'I just like it'.

Nice to have, probably won't actually use it... but you never know.

...but. Coupla things. The rusted metal struts, hooks for the hooking of, were rusted and the wooden constituents themselves were loose, simply the shrinkage of the wood and glue over the years. Hm. The only thing holding the assembly together was 'said rusty pins, so all four were carefully cut through on both sides of the middle support. After this, it came apart quite easily.

...part dismantled

...parts apart

...dis-assembled

It is nicely made; machined and sawn for sure, even the cuts for the line appear to have been made with a razor saw of some sort. I used a safety razor-blade to clean out those slots, then resolved to re-glue it and replace the rusty struts with some brazing solder rod I had retained for some time, but which had far to much potential utility to throw away.

...in bits

Interesting to see the dark patch where lead shot once rolled about.

The existing wire struts came out with little difficulty. The pieces in the main body were plucked out with pliers, likewise the middle supports'. The pieces in the outer supports split 50-50, two coming away and two having rusted into the wood, so they had to be punched out using a small masonry nail with the end ground flat. All the holes in all the sections were bored out to the o/d of the rod, 1.8mm, using a pin-vice. The whole was then re-assembled and glued back together in stages using various clamps. Then it sat for two months under a pile of paper...

...brazing rod is slippery stuff, even using a small hacksaw with a new blade. The rod was fully seated into one position in the winder, a small knife was pressed onto the rod, flush with the wood, and then the rod was gently turned a couple of times. The rod was removed and clamped between two pieces of 2×1. The short piece of rod was cut off just inside this mark. Repeat × 3.

...showing the four pieces of brazing rod.

...one pin-hole

...one pin-hole

The small pieces of rods' ends were cleaned up with a flat jeweller's file. A little epoxy was put into one hole on the body, the new strut was inserted and a little more epoxy was used to glue the strut to the outer support. The slight indentation on the outer, where the strut was (purposefully) recessed a little was filled with epoxy. This was repeated for the other strut on the same side, any excess was removed using nail-varnish remover and the whole stood on its side while it went off. Rinsed and repeated for the other side. The tiny blobs of epoxy covering the strut recesses were smoothed over. By the by, such small amounts of epoxy cannot be practically mixed, so I used left-over glue from other jobs. Colour variation is due to different lighting and white level compensation. Tricky business.

Then it got a light rub down with wire wool. There. Fixed. This is what I did today.

...the brass thingy is an old bullet mould I found in a junk-shop in Reading I think. Had it a while.

There. 'Fixed'.

Stay safe and well.

16th April 2020. Keeping busy. Bits'n'bobs. I would not want anyone to think I have been idle...let us see; I have read about half of the excellent "Puswhisperer: A Year in the Life of an Infectious Disease Doctor", spread the compost over the veggie bed and dug it in, just in time for it to rain tomorrow and damp it well down. When the rain eases, the tarpaulin that was laid over the pile will be redeployed on the bed to keep weeds from sprouting until the beans are ready. I dug up quite a lot of 'random foxgloves' and made small plantation of them at the shady end of the nearest flower-bed. Well watered-in, they seem to be perfectly at home. If they self-seed there (as they have everywhere) they will make a nice stand. I did the same with even more random 'forget-me-knots', which grow in every nook and cranny, so I have made a border with them which should keep going for some years. Then restored a flower-bed brick-edge that was overshadowed by the now defunct Bramley tree and pulled up a sod of a lot of ivy...then it will be the root-killer for that. The Hex Avon is on its final vanishings.

More-or-less at their best now

More-or-less at their best now

More-or-less at their best now

Plus the daily dozen. Some mild cabin fever. The river below is engaging, but there is not a fish in it...

...stay safe and well.

Looks lovely, the stones are bones by June.

18th April 2020. 'Puswhisperer: A Year in the Life of an Infectious Disease Doctor' by Mark Crislip MD

Black is cool on Hotblack Desiato's stunt ship (right up until the point it plunges into the sun), but on a fishing rod it is terribly dull, so I have added further colour with some Pacbay NCP thread in 'evergreen' and 'some purple'. I changed the butt-ring (stop it) to a fine grey 30mm lined Fuji MNSG. This replaced the 20mm previous incarnation, so all the existing rings shuffled up one space on the rod.

First though were those four places on the top section where the end of a carbon section showed after the paint came off. They will probably never move, but I have seen them now so; these need whipping over with epoxy. I have three spools of carp Dacron that I have kept for 'something' after a number of mysterious knot failures. I coloured a couple of yards of the 6lb black with an indelible pen, let it dry for a day or two (having first done an experiment to see if a couple of meters is enough).
I cleaned up the offending areas, slightly buffed them with '000' emery and applied a thin cost of epoxy with a brush. When it was tacky (some two hour later) I put blackened 6lb dacron whippings over the tack resin, pulled the ends through and trimmed them up. I made up some more epoxy, warmed it with a heat gun until it was quite runny. I gently warmed the whipping to something less than 100°C (it all helps, painted each whipping in turn, put heat-shrink tubing over the top and shrunk it down to force the resin into the thread. Did the other three the same. Waited 24 hours and cut off the tubing and trimmed a few bits of resin off. There...

...were a couple of spots on the three smallest whippings with 'small fluffy bits', where the heat-shrink removal pulled a few fibres away. Possibly the heat-shrink tape I had previously used would be better...I do not like the end result, especially those done with clear heat-shrink tubing, which did not work as well as the thinner black heat-shrink on the lower whippings. I decided to remove them, cleaned up the rod and replaced them with black 6lb dyneema whipped over tacky epoxy resin. When this had gone off, I varnished them like any other whipping. Should have done that in the first place. Still, always good to learn something new...

Tip Ring

Third Ring, plus 'obsessive whippings'

Fifth Ring, plus 'obsessive whipping'

Sixth Ring

'Ferrule' Whippings

Next the rings were evergreen-wrapped and I added a small fly rod ring, recycled from the 'GudgeonatorCute, but a failed experiment' as a 'keeper'. This was mounted only just forward of the champers fore-grip. I do not fit winding-checks (I have no idea what the point of them is). The idea is that the 'keeper' is close enough to the fore-grip that there is very little chance of a flailing coil of line snagging on it. This avoids the whole 'Swooosh-crack................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................. splot' related incident.

Counter Whippings

Seventh Ring

Butt Ring

Keeper Ring

Reel-Seat Hood whipping.

Over a week or so, I varnished the whippings to three coats, giving both sections of the rod sunlight-time in the lean-to during the day, to set the varnish a little quicker. There. Finished, as it has the right reel-seat, a perfect handle, a keeper that works and a decent mix of lined and light rings.

There, all done, nothing more needs doing to this rod. Probably...

22nd April 2020. Sit-Rep. Still Keeping Busy...

I decide to remove the escaped bamboo from behind the veggie bed, which required an axe and a firm state of mind, then recalling four bags of 'postcrete' and some gravel in the garage, decide to dig a hole and bed the three slabs displaced by the bamboo shoots onto that. This has the additional benefit of providing a barrier even bamboo cannot penetrate...by the time I had extracted all the ivy, the stump of a dead buddleia and its ivy, several errant bamboo shoots that had made it a yard across the lawn and shredded the whole lot for compost...

...in between times I re-fixed a bunch of fence slats; the original screws having rusted and loosened. A job, that without a power-screwdriver would have taken half a day, but with, half-an-hour. Gotta love power tools.

I also 'discovered' an old home-made steel rod-rest, which had been resting in the garage for some time - this, rusted, was found in a lake's undergrowth. I wire-brushed it clean, which revealed the brazed joint where the fork joined the upright and it appears to be patterned after one described in DMAL'Drop Me a Line'; still one of the finest fishing books ever.. I hammered the end few inches of the upright flat, to help it do a better job in the ground, then reshaped the fork, making the flare symmetrical (it was not), then added a slight curve to the fork. This proved tricky as different parts of the metal rod appeared to have different tempers. Still, done and 'hammerited' green, it needs only a little clear heat-shrink over the rod-bearing surface, if I have any.

Obviously I am going to lose it, what with the whole 'green' thing going on. So when the second coat of green has dried, I will add a short section of red hammerite.

Plus I have spent several hours trying to find out why inexpensive oxygen sensors are hard to source. The answer appears to be that no-one wishes to sell them cheaply nor has to. It is never good when it is 'better' business to sell a few high margin products, than to sell many more units at a lower profit margin, especially in health-care.

Stay safe and well.

23rd April 2020. Why Are There Dragons?

I have a hypothesis...I was looking up 'Four AshesOne of 'those' places...' in 2015 or so, after a too-and-fro with the LoD on 'those places' which give one the feeling one is being watched. Or something. It turns out 'Four Ashes' comes equipped with a tale of a worme or dragon The story of the Hughenden Dragon.... For me this beast had something of a salamander about it. I had seen, around the time of this first thought, a documentary on some very big carnivorous salamanders that hang out in China. It occurs that there once was, in times of yore, a giant salamander in Europe - they are not tropical animals per se - and a five-foot hissing, crying salamander would be, for your Dark-and-Middle ages person, a 'dragon'. It is instructive that such small dragons tended to emerge spontaneously from small pools and ponds...if I was the sort to take that further, it might be worth trying to work out if reports of dragons in mediaeval times coincided with unusually long dry spells of weather. You know, when water levels were below average...

Four Ashes has a small shadowy pond on the corner, a remnant of the old Rockhalls manor-house moat; I never liked passing it by, especially at night.

Even more persuasive is the fine book "The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent" by Isbell. This wonderful piece of consilience convincingly explores and expounds on why humans see so well and are so snake-adverse; fear of snakes is our most common phobia and the most easily induced. There is a special part of the human brain dedicated to detecting those patterns that look like 'snake-scales' and freezing us mid-step; this has happened to me; but for this tiny part of the mid-brain, I would have trodden flip-flop-shod on a sun-bathing Viper and you would not be reading this.

Lynne Isbell's fine piece of induction neatly dovetails with many strong age-long traditions of chaos, being that which is outside the circle or tree-canopy, and its representation by snakes and dragons of types too multitudinous to describe.

We have evolved to fear these predators, large and small, the monitors, the serpents and the crocodilians, while at the same time sharing an ancestral limbic cortex. The limbic system is the seat of base emotions; fight, flight, food, the primitive basic survival drives. Not for nothing is the limbic commonly referred to as the 'lizard brain'; this is all a lizard has.

It is hardly surprising that the dragons of the mind share space and characteristics with the dragons of the world and that civilised man is, by his very nature, both jousting with his own dragons and those of others. It would be more surprising if there were not dragons.

And then there are horse-eels...

24th April 2020. Chilli Sans Carne

Mrs. AA and the two-thirds of the Littleanglers have foresworn meat but not spices, so I worked up a vegetarian chilli. The below serves four, more-or-less. It is assumed the reader can cook a bit. Chilli Sans Carne takes about an hour to cook to completion.

Weigh out 100g of dried Textured Vegetable Protein and put it into a saucepan.

Put the following into a Pyrex jug: 2 teaspoons of vegetable bouillon powder, a teaspoon of Worcester sauce (not veggie this last, contains 'anchovies', so for completely vegetarian swap this out for mushroom ketchup), a tea-spoon of dark soy (for colour), a dessert spoon of HP sauce, one teaspoon of ground cumin and one of un-smoked paprika. Add about 1¼ pints of boiling water and stir well until the soluble stuff has dissolved and the powders are suspended. Pour this into the TVP, mix well and leave for a couple of hours. This will hydrate it and the flavours will be drawn into the otherwise anodyne TVP.

Wait two hours...also, find a large saucepan.

Cut up 2 large onions and fry in a little olive oil until translucent, a bit of a brown tinge will not hurt. When the onion is done, crush two cloves of garlic and add them to the pan, fry for 1 minute (only), stirring constantly. Burnt garlic is foul...then add 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons of un-smoked paprika, half a level teaspoon of ground black pepper and chilli to taste. I use chilli flakes, they are reliable, that is, one level teaspoon is exactly the heat we like. It is as well to remember that it is far easier to add a bit more chilli later, than to remove any excess.

Fry the spices for another minute or so, stirring constantly, then add two tins of tomatoes, two tins of drained kidney beans (save one tin's liquid) and put in the TVP. Stir well and bring to a simmer.

Optionally, cut 4-6 green and yellow peppers into chunks and add those along with a small tin of sweetcorn. Add a dessert-spoon of tomato puree. Simmer the whole lot until the peppers are soft. If any additional liquid is required, add some of the kidney bean liquid, but wait until the peppers are soft before adding any - the peppers liberate quite a bit of water as they cook...

Five minutes before serving add a tablespoon of lime juice and one square of 90% cocoa chocolate and stir until the latter has melted.

Serve with whatever you like - tortillas are good, as is rice. The Anotherangler household does not usually bother with either, we add the peppers to make it a complete meal, but a few rice-crackers on top are pretty good.

25th April 2020. Keeping Busy...

I finished the rod-rest previously mentioned, and very smart it looks. I sorted out the 'cotemporary orangerie' down-pipe - I previously added a new water butt to the two existing, hence the need to reposition the down-pipe, which involved 'some guttering', a hack-saw, an electric drill and a number of non-family appropriate words. I sieved out the soil removed for the setting of previously mentioned slabs then dug out one end of the flower bed so I can transplant two large foxgloves that had moved in next door to the horse-radish (which is growing nicely). I spread out a few of the liberated ubiquitous blue-bell and daffodil bulbs which we are blessed with. I dug out a massive ornamental grass thingy, think size of a basket-ball, shredded it (bloody things) and replanted 'said bulbs and some golden rod-roots that had been overwhelmed by 'said grass-like spawn of satan. I removed a few glazing bar end-caps from the orangerie and worked out I can make a retaining bracket out of steel and push all the roof segments back into place. Off to the internet to order said brackets and some s/steel no.10 × 35mm screws...

Re-shaped and 'greened'...

...with its handy red stripe, I'll add some heat-shrink to the fork later.

Bet I lose the rod-rest though.

27th April 2020. Sit-Rep: Still Keeping Busy...

Some small stuff. Some expanding foam around the central-heating pipes' egress from the ceiling in two rooms was removed flush, then a pipe clip that had come loose (or more probably, had never been put in properly) was removed, the hole filled, a new hole drilled and the clip replaced. I have a small book-shelf, surprisingly well made in a 1975 woodwork class. I resolved to put it on the wall over my desk. I drilled out three old rawlplugs from said area of wall then filled the holes. I opened out the book-shelf's screw holes and countersink a smidge then drilled new holes in the wall and loosely affixed the shelf. Yep, all good. I took it off, wire-wooled then bees-waxed it, left it in the 'contemporary orangerie' for an hour or two, buffed off the wax, then fixed it on the wall. A small digital inclinometer is a useful thing.

Stay safe and well.

29th April 2020. Sit-Rep: Still Keeping Busy...

The 28th was the single least productive day of the lock-down for me. No idea why; I ran out of jobs I fancied and did little more than pot up beans, squashes and a few errant maize seeds. The rain, which returned in earnest this morning, has soaked the veggie plot and flushed through and cleaned out the guttering I amended. I may yet have to tackle the loose backboard at the bottom of the stairs. It is an easy enough job but it is hard to access and requires emptying the cupboard under the stairs. Then the treadmill belt broke, so I've had to sort out a new one...

Stir Crazy? Me?

There actually are fish in there....

Stay safe and well.

just a hook...(and back to the top of the page)

...and a loaf of bread

just a hook...

...and a loaf of bread

just a hook...

just a hook...

...and a loaf of bread

just a hook...

...and a loaf of bread

just a hook...

...and a loaf of bread

just a hook...

...and a loaf of bread

just a hook...

5th May 2020. Sit-Rep: Still Keeping Busy...I have not been going mad at all. Oh no.

There were number of 'things' on this site which have been niggling at me for a bit. There are basically several page types that are not behaving as I would like, which for the sake of argument can be termed: 'subject', 'topic', tackle, and 'venue'. I needed to ensure they all worked in the same way...and the way was that every entry on each page hyperlinked back to its location in the relevant 'dairy' page. This took me a coupla days...three if you count all the diversions to edit old entries that had spelling mistakes and phrases that simply begged a re-write. Plus I remembered some other stuff I had nearly forgotten...anyway, all done. Phew. I'm reminded of the old joke about 'always working on a low maintenance garden'.

Meanwhile...I glued the rogue trim down on the lad's car, put a curtain rail up in the 'contemporary orangerie', dismantled the treadmill ready for its new belt (which I have ordered), removed two polycarbonate panels worth of glazing-bar end-caps and bits, cleaned out a not inconsiderable amount of 'stuff' and put them back on using the s/steel washers and screws that came Friday - this will ensure that the panels cannot slip down again. I must mention the 'screw-removing' pliers that arrived for this job, awsome things. Certainly do the job, 16 panels to go...and as the new oil tank went in today, I dug out all the surrounding bricks, stones and other geological ephemera, put an axe through a recalcitrant Bramley tree root and filled a large tub with ivy-roots. I wonder if we have any grass-seed?

Here is one of our regular visitors and the view from the very top of the hill. Stay safe and well.

Front Garden Goldfinch

From the top of the hill - along with everything else I do this every day...

7th May 2020. Sit-Rep: Still Keeping Busy...Sane as a plank here.

Today I opted to fix the loose backboard on the second stair...peasy eh? By the time I had emptied the cupboard under the stairs, hoovered up 2,762 spiders, their detritus and a lot of dust, crawled in (on my unhooking mat), measured the width of the step, wriggled out, cut a baton, drilled it and wriggled back in, screwed the baton to the step, which luckily was good solid ¼" timber (the plywood had punched off the panel pins originally used to fix it, so I opted to screw a baton over the top of what was quite ragged plywood). I then cut a support block out of 4" × 4" fence-post for the two central heating pipes that run through the cupboard. This was to stop the pipes being bounced by the stuff being lobbed into the cupboard. I then took off the door, cut a hole for a louvre, fitted it and re-hung the door...that was pretty much my day. Oh, I nearly forgot, before that I fixed a new grille to the downstairs loo extractor fan - the old one had 'flaps' and the sparrows had broken two of them and finding a handy one foot deep 4" pipe, started a nest, bit of which were all over the shelf in the 'said, loo. They then decided the three berth nest box not 10 feet away was better, so this is currently 33.3% occupied. Before that I checked every JAA database entry for 2005, and amended several from 1982 or thereabouts...

Stay safe and well.

8th May 2020. Catching Small Bass in a Tiny Spillway. Fishing 618 is well worth a watch. Although possibly at odds with UK techniques, the enthusiasm is infectious, the editing is nicely done, the soundtracks are well chosen and played at a 'background' volume. Plus, there is a fascinating array of fish and where else do you see folk catching turtles by mistake and having to avoid snakes?

In his own words: Fishing the ponds, lakes, rivers, and creeks from the midwest and beyond! You will find videos featuring gear from the lightest of ultra light to the heaviest of heavy. This channel is dedicated to fishing purely for the fun and excitement of fishing! Enjoy!"

10th May 2020. Restoration at Barton Court Estate trout fishery. Lovely little video about the start of the Kennet restoration project at Barton Court Estate. Work is under way to create a habitat that promotes a healthy head of wild trout, as well as creating a diverse and varied fishery for anglers.

13th May 2020. Allowed Out. I set off with something of a buzz, as notwithstanding the 'lockdown' this would only be my second trip out in 2020. I was keen to try out the 'new' Four Piece Avon tip and was hopeful that the place would have retained a little warmth despite the recent cool snap.

The Wetland is at its best in Spring and is the greenest place I know of, but this didn't hide the clear clear waters...Pond '1' held a little colour, enough to obscure the corner chub, but '2'-'6' were as Bombay Sapphire. Ah. I pottered about, spotted a few tench promenading in '3' and a large chub and one large tench likewise in '4'. Pond '5' might have been bereft of life, for all I saw. Hm. Even the rudd were apparently hunkered down somewhere. I set up in '3' to fish for a random tench against the far trees, something which has worked in the past. Pete called and I vouchsafed that if I got even one bite I'd be above current expectations...

...can you say 'foreshadowing'? After an hour, sans tinca, I rootled out a few worms from under a rotting log and using the same float, cunningly weighted with two AAA shot, planted a worm in the gap in the willows in '2'. Two chub thought this was of passing interest, then the float slid along a bit, in that casual way that floats do when the fish do not see much fishing.

The path by '3'

Pond '3' in leaf

The least chary chub

This fine chub exercised my rod 'enough' to see it was basically good, although the spine' alignment might need re-checking. Despite my exaggerated stealth, the other chub took fright. I wandered up to the other end of '3' to try the same game with the small posse of tench - they obligingly swam past, over and around my bait for half an hour. Hm. I had a look around the other ponds, even the '4' chub had taken refuge somewhere, so I tried for another chub from '2' for 40 minutes, which they were not having, then snuck around to '1' and lobbed the same worm (figuratively) into 'chub corner'. Or today, 'chub-less corner'. As there was some colour in '1' I opted to spend an hour fishing for bites on the sunny side, while sipping tea and contemplating the infinite. When I started there was decent colour; an hour later my bait had materialised out of the murk and could be seen on the bed. At this time I remembered the 'half-a-boiled-fruit-cake', with added blackberry whisky, that was sitting on the side at home...

The long quill on the far side of '3'

Looking down the rod

Waiting on '1'...

(...In contrast with this time last year, the ponds all had some colour and I caught rudd, tench and carp without much trouble, I shall hope for a warm 10 days and try again...)

20th May 2020. Hooked. I had to take down the smallest apple tree, on account of it being quite lifeless. While I was at it, I decided to use my landing-net handle reed-cutting attachment to remove live mistletoe from the other trees, as the tree-surgeon who took down the Bramley advised me that the mistletoe would affect 'said other trees. Ah. I cut some, then the hooked blade pulled right out of its moulded plastic. Tat.

I mulled this over, possibly while muttering a few rude words. The blade, a nasty looking hooked thing, was reasonable steel. It took and held an edge, plus it had two 3mm holes in the blunt end, which were there so that the moulded plastic would grip the blade at all. I recalled I had some steel M8? M10? bolts retrieved from the dismantled tree-house.

First, find your bolt *...noises off, from garage...* the thread was re-cut to 3/8"BSF (I have both die & tap for 3/8"BSF). That worked. Hm. I resolved to cut the bolt down to the right length, cut a length-wise slot in it, drill two holes through, then rivet the blade in with cut-down galvanised nails 'of the right size'. Sounds simple.

I decided to put a 3/8"BSF brass nut onto the existing thread, screwed right to the end-stop as it were, then allow sufficient length for the blade's slot, plus a second nut. The bolt was cut to length, and then cleaned off by clamping it into the drill and running a file over it. The same file was then used to take about 0.25mm off the o/d at the unthreaded end, so that the die would fit.

A second thread was then cut at the 'other' end, the idea being that once the blade was in place, another nut would brace the open end of the slot. This rod was then clamped vertically in the vice, using the first brass nut, then using a hacksaw and some oil, a slot was cut to within 1mm of the nut clamped in the vice. Naturally the hooked-blade was about two hacksaw blades thick, so a second blade was added to the hacksaw and the slot opened out (I know, but it worked perfectly). Although cut completely 'by eye' the slot was 'true'. Heh.

The second nut was put onto the 'open end' of the rod, then both nuts were adjusted so that when the rod was clamped horizontally in the vice (across the flats of the nuts) and the hooked-blade was slid into the slot, the blade was flat and level on the top of the vice. Sneaky eh? The blade was gently tapped through the slot until half of both its holes were visible. By eye, the rod was punched to mark where the 'rivets' would be placed. The blade was removed, both holes were piloted through with a 2mm bit, then they were opened up to 3mm. The holes were de-burred and countersunk and the inside of the slot de-burred by running the 'double' hacksaw blade back through. The hooked-blade was offered up and, stap me, the holes were perfectly aligned. The plastic tub with galvanised nails was up-ended and two perfect fits were rooted out, cut to length (about 15mm). Then, using a small block of iron and a ball-peen, the blade was 'riveted' into placed.

The die was re-run over both threads along with a little oil, to clean them up and the sharp edges and residual burrs removed with some 400 grit and a fine wire brush. Finally the threads were cleaned with white spirit and both nuts were tightened into place with a good dollop of Loctite 263. There. All done. Rather pleased with that.

The hooked blade

The hooked blade

Close-up of the 'rod' and its rivets.

It is not going to break, is it?

22nd May 2020. Slashing. A one person work-party, to continue path-cutting for this year's '16th' with, this year, inclusive 'passing places'. There was a digger in the barn-yard moving a prodigious pile of hard-core, possible for a new dry-ski slope, so I had to spin the DT'Driving Technology' around and park in the field just off the beaten track.

It was sunny, 20°C in the shade, and even with the stiff breeze it was hot sticky work with frequent pauses to remove 'wildlife', both real and imaginary, from one's person. The light was very fine and even using the ST'Small Technology''s camera, the below pictures came out very well; it is nice to have some pictures of the path, rather than the water from the path.

The First Pitch...

...the Second Pitch...

...the Third Pitch...

...the Fourth Pitch...

...the Bridge...

...the path from the Bridge...

...to the Trail Camera Pitch...

...from the Trail Camera Pitch to the corner...

...and around the corner...

Plus, a rather nice panorama, taken from the dam.

The Upper Saxon Pond

22nd May 2020. The Wetland, one more time...

The plan was to fish the Wetland on the way home, although I was not convinced it would be alive with fish. It was certainly more alive that last week. Pottering up and down, there were plenty of chub moving in '1' and '2', with '1' clearer than last week and '2' with perhaps a tinge of colour, but not enough to hide the chub, especially those in the downstream corner enjoying the sun. There were several tench mooching about in '3', two fine chub and a large tench abroad in the still gin-clear '4' and in the sunny corner there was a pike of about 2lb bathing on the pond-bed.

Edging down to '5', which was also clear although weedy, I spent a while firing small crusts into the far trees and the accumulated flotsam in the NW corner and then waited...carp are too curious even if bread is new to them, but nothing stirred. Hm. The only signs of life were a few rudd and small crucians in the NW corner. In '6' a few rudd scooted about and I saw one pike laying up in the weeds; the swim helpfully cut at the end of the pond had been enveloped in floating catkins and fluff, so was not (today) an option.

I decided that I would fish the south end of '3' as the movement suggested that the fish might feed towards the end of the day, so I baited very lightly then enjoyed the sun, two scotch eggs and several tins of cool lemonade...a dog-fox made it halfway along the path alongside '2' before catching sight of me, and then only when I moved my head quickly to see if it noticed. It froze for a moment, then did that dog-like volte-face and trotted briskly back the other way, then darted up the path between the first two ponds and vanished. Heh. Pete'n'Pam came by en route to another venue, not that I had masses of fish to report or anything...but we talked of this and that, while at the proscribed seperation.

The afternoon stretched out and a few-score rudd and schools of tiny fish went back and forth, plus several 2-3lb tench which obligingly coasted around the float then hovered between me and it for most of the afternoon. Once or thrice the float was pulled in that determined way that suggests a small fish is doggedly tackling an overlarge bait. I debated slipping on a size 18 and fishing for the rudd, using scraps of cockle or nibs of bread, but really did not feel the need to overexert myself in the warm wind-blown sunshine.

Descisions, decisions...

...but really did not feel the need to overexert myself in the warm wind-blown sunshine...

...the float was pulled in that determined way that suggests a small fish is doggedly tackling an overlarge bait.

The fully grown swan passed through the pond, traversed '2' in furious half-flight and proceeded to violently assault the immature bird on pond '1'. It drove it out the water and down the path, then into the hedge and after some noises off, the mature bird emerged and made its serene way back down the ponds. Over an hour later the younger bird emerged from the hedge and made its way dejectedly along the path to within a few yards of me, pausing every so often to extend its neck and scan the water for the bully. It then appeared to decide that I represented some kind of sanctuary and settled down on the path and after a while ate a half-circle into the lush grass, then went to sleep.

Meanwhile, I thought my chances were improving by the minute. There were sporadic feeding signs, obviously taking place wherever my float was not located and this kept me, figuratively, on the edge of my seat until about 7pm. At this time, small fish started priming, zipping up from the bottom and zipping back after a small splash and it seemed to me that these were probably small crucians, although it is hard to be certain. For the next 30 minutes this kept me hopeful, although the float only twitched once or twice and although the water seemed quite alive, I decided that was enough for me. I woke the swan, which grudgingly moved along the path, reproachfully it must be said, but before it slipped into '2' and began drinking copiously I had seen both wings and feet were intact, so I diagnosed a seriously injured pride then headed home for some scrambled eggs. And possibly a 'Red Label' or two.

29th May 2020. The Wetland, another 'one more time'...

It was very very hot. I regretted turning up as early as 3pm, the '2' chub were sunning themselves under the south bank and I stalked to within two paces before they took flight, as did the rudd, also seemingly wild. I took a quick stroll then settled by the lilies at the north end of '3', expecting to have to wait until the sun lowered itself behind the hedge opposite...after 45 minutes I could feel my shirt sticking to me, so took the LBR'Little Blue Rod' aka the Other Mk.III and nicked out a few of the larger rudd from '5', which was fun and then spent some time under the trees there watching a couple of tench nose about the margin followed by three acolyte crucians, the largest perhaps 2oz. I stole up to the end of the pond and saw a large dark shape hanging in the water. I snuck around the tree and it was gone. From the gap between the ponds, I watched the extremely healthy rudd population in '6' scoot about while a pike of around 2lb of so evanesced into the weeds. For a pond full of pike, it has a lot of rudd.

I whipped a few of '6''s rudd out for good measure and then turned to face the other pond and spotted the same ark shape under the trees in the corner. Hm. Not a chub. Doesn't look or behave like a tench. Carp? I looked away, looked back and it was gone...

So so gold...

Four of the rudd flotilla

The inevitable float

I spent ten minutes eyeing up '5' or standing in the shade, pick one, while thinking a sensible idea would be to weed-drag a swim and fish in the shade, sat back in my chair for twenty minutes, then did the smart thing and took chair and tea to the totally leafed-over path at the top of the ponds and spent a sensible hour or so in cool shade, disturbed only by what appeared to be a pair of willow tits, which I have not seen here before. Two cups of BEGCBlack Earl Grey and Cylon; tea, JAA for the consumption of later and now with a normal body temperature, I edged back to my pitch which felt like the right spot, despite the lure of a dragged shady swim in'6'. So I fished...

...despite the right sort of bubbling, bites were absent, so I swapped shrimp for punched bread and almost immediately nabbed an 8oz tench on a bobbling lift-bite. Heh. Pete arrived just in time to miss this fish, but not a few more bites which yielded nothing. I told of the possible carp and other sightings, then Pete went on. I dropped the hook size, slipped on a fine antennae, but still went on to have one of those times, when they were there, I was there, the bait was there, but I could not quite put all three together.

The Pond '3' Pitch with its Lilies

The Biggest Tench

The Smallest Tench

I nabbed another rudd, pricked a couple of fish on the strike and finally nabbed a tiny tench, which is always fun. Then the sun was below the alders, the evening was wonderfully cool after the blast-furnace afternoon, and I was quite content with that.

A panorama shot taken from between '3' and '4'

A panorama shot taken from between '4' and '5'

Safety Pin Hook (and return to the top of the page)

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

Safety Pin Hook

5th June 2020. The Wetland, yet another 'one more time'...

It is cooler than of late and although it would be balmy day indeed for January, the breeze has rendered pond '1','2', '3' and '4' devoid of colour and although a few chub are visible (as they always are) in the first two ponds, no other fish were showing, barring a long-range view of one chub in '4'. Pond '5' is the most promising looking and it is fortunate that my plan was to drag a swim here and see what it still held. Unlike the preceding pools it is heavily weeded, with colour in a few gaps, but although a few rudd, the odd crucian and a few larger tench have so far been spotted, the carp are still conspicuous in absentia.

A twisting squall rendered the weed-dragging to a particularly wet affair so after that and baiting the pitch, I return to the DT'Driving Technology' for my coat and determined I would cut back the crack-willow that was laying across the path alongside '1', its branches now at about 'face height' for this angler.

I was glad of the coat...I started catching rudd. The water was clear, even after the rake, so I relax and play with the easy fish. After nabbing a few using maggots on the hook, I wonder if it is possible to catch then on a bare hook painted red with a permanent marker. Yes it is. It is also possible to catch rudd on the same hook with a 5mm piece of thin red silicone tubing threaded on. Showers, various, beetle past and I note several tench-like shadows scooting along the bed at the shady edges of my personal hole-in-the-weeds. Aha.

The Pond '5' Pitch

The Second Biggest Tench

I pop a BB ½" from the hook, re-set the depth and fish on the right-hand side of the gap, as close to the weed as I can get, immediately nabbing two tench, a fingerling and a 'two-fingerling', both falling to those 'dither-rise-dither-rise' bites that are typical of tiny tench in silt. After three or four such fish, with a smattering of extra rudd, naturellement, I nab a 6-8oz tench consistent with one of the longer shapes that I had noted earlier. A couple of rapt hours and a dozen tiny t.'s later, the largest fish of the day arrives, perhaps 1lb 10oz or so, putting a proper bend in the rod, but still smaller than one I had seen earlier...

A panorama pitch picture

The Turmoil of Tiny Tench

The Biggest Tench

...A few more fish come in the last hour, but no sign of a carp, although I was suspicious of one most carp-like bite, a eternity of trembling then a lightening take. Had I tied on an 'old-fashioned' size 18 baited with a single maggot, I suspect the tiny tinca count could have been doubled, but I was, with a stout 16, invested in larger tench and hoped for carp. So it is that at the 'I shall have one last cast' part of the day, another firm squall made a decision for me and I pack, swiftly, damply, and call it a fine day.

This is small beer for some, but for myself, these tiny ponds with their barely cut paths, wild fish and season-to-season and daily variations are more attractive than 'the same old carp' day in, day out, that is most of our fishing.